While the Switch 2 itself isn't on sale, you can still find good prices on bundles and accessories. The second generation of Nintendo's beloved hybrid console arrived earlier this year . The Switch 2 has incredible screen quality, backwards compatibility with older Switch games and peripherals, and refined Joy-Con 2 grips (the real necessity of an updated Switch). It's sure to be on many people's Christmas lists, including my own. Sadly the device itself isn't on sale, but there are some bundles and accessories you can shop instead.

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The slogan, from the 1990s, is one of the most famous in video game history. It was a time when the bitter rivalry between the two Japanese game companies was at its fiercest. Today, that relationship has softened. You can play Sonic games on Nintendo consoles and the characters have even appeared in games together. But is Sega trying to restart the beef?

The video game industry loves to tout figures: record-breaking sales numbers, astonishing revenue growth, dazzling quantities of concurrent players. It makes sense that the people who make and play games love numbers: They're proof that someone is winning. We have a new incredible number from the world of video games: In spite of an alarming price tag, it took only four days for the Nintendo Switch 2 to become the fastest-selling home video game console of all time, with 3.5 million units sold over the weekend following its June 5 release. This is tremendous business, enough for investors to take note and consider Nintendo a safe haven in a moment of extreme economic volatility. This kind of success is typically a point of pride to proponents of the video game industry, hard data proving the medium's significance to any doubters.

One thing most game developers can agree on in the modern industry is that it's hard to drum up any awareness for your latest project without a mammoth marketing budget. Last year, almost 20,000 new titles were released on the PC gaming platform Steam alone, the majority disappearing into the content blackhole that is the internet. So when a smaller studio is offered the chance to get on the stage at the Summer Games Fest, an event streamed live to a global audience of around 50 million people, it's a big deal. Not something that you want to spectacularly misjudge. Enter Ian Proulx, cofounder of 1047 Games.

Launch week is finally here, and though I would love to be bringing you a proper review of the Nintendo Switch 2 in this week's newsletter, I still don't have one at the time of writing. In its wisdom, Nintendo has decided not to send review units out until the day before release, so as you read this I will be standing impatiently by the door like a dog anxiously awaiting its owner. I have played the console, though, for a whole day at Nintendo's offices, so I can give you some first impressions. Hardware-wise, it is the upgrade of my dreams: sturdier JoyCons, a beautiful screen, the graphical muscle to make games look as good as I want them to in 2025 (though still not comparable to the high-end PlayStation 5 Pro or a modern gaming PC). I like the understated pops of colour on the controllers, the refined menu with its soothing chimes and blips.

There was a time when certain shops would resemble nightclubs at about midnight: a long queue of excitable people, some of them perhaps too young to be out that late, discussing the excitement that awaits inside. The sight of throngs of gamers looking to get their hands on the latest hardware when the clock strikes 12 is growing increasingly rare. But if you happen to walk by a Smyths toy shop at midnight on 4 June, you may encounter a blast from the past: excitable people, most in their teens or 20s, possibly discussing Mario Kart. They will be waiting to buy the Nintendo Switch 2, the first major games console launch since 2020 and potentially the biggest of all time. What's particularly notable about this launch isn't the queues but just how few there will be.

As the Switch 2's release date crawls closer, the internet is not thrilled with Nintendo's choices. Between reports of modding bans that could brick your console, unreliable Joy-Con performance in demos, and digital games tied so tightly to online access that you basically lease them, many gamers are looking to buy other handheld gaming consoles. One great option is the Retropian Color, a modern version of the Game Boy Color. Not only can you ditch the poor screen quality and AA batteries, but you can also play multiple generations of console titles in one with open-source emulators already built-in (including Nintendo). The price tag is also far more friendly than the Switch 2 at 79.99 with free shipping (reg.

After that whole tariff tango, Nintendo is readying its North American pre-order system for the Switch 2. The original Switch 2 price will remain the same, 450, as will the original 500 for the Nintendo Switch 2 Mario Kart World bundle. However, some Switch 2 accessories will receive price adjustments due to "market conditions." There are some fine-print details attached to pre-ordering directly from Nintendo. You must be 18 years or older, sign in with your Nintendo account and register your interest in pre-ordering. Then, you'll get an invitation email when it's time to play your pre-order, and the invitation will be valid for 72 hours.

Japanese entertainment giants Nintendo and Sony are likely to raise prices on their game consoles in response to U.S. tariffs, according to the latest research from Bloomberg Intelligence. American consumers would pay as much as 30% more for a Switch 2 or PlayStation 5 under the base-case scenario, which would imply pricing close to 590 for the soon-to-be-released Nintendo flagship machine or Sony's PS5 Astro Bot bundle. Both devices are assembled in China, which is now subject to a 125% duty for shipments to the United States, although Nintendo also has an expanding production footprint in Vietnam, which has a 90-day reprieve from elevated tariffs. Console makers are the most vulnerable players in the video game industry, said BI analyst Nathan Naidu, due to their hardware businesses and need to ship physical goods. The U.S. accounts for 29% of revenue for Tokyo-based Sony and 37% of sales for Kyoto-based Nintendo, he said.